Developer Al Mazaya’s quarterly revenue nearly triples

Takings from its long-delayed 13 million square feet Queue Point residential complex in Dubailand have boosted the third-quarter revenue of Al Mazaya, the developer and investment company.

The company, which is listed in Dubai and Kuwait, yesterday said its quarterly revenue nearly tripled to 17.1 million Kuwaiti dinars (Dh208.22bn) from 6.1m dinars for the same period last year.

That was largely thanks to higher property sales, for which Mazaya booked revenues of 15.4m dinars, up from 4.6m dinars last year.

However, the top line growth did little to improve profits, which edged up to 2.6m dinars from 2.5m dinars. Analysts said this was primarily owing to a decline in income from investments, an increase in financing costs, and a one-off gain reported last year which had skewed results.

“Overall these results appear broadly in line with our expectations for Mazaya this year. We anticipate higher revenue recognition from its ongoing development project, Queue Point Liwan in Dubai, to continue boosting its financial performance for the remainder of 2015 and next year,” said Ashish Jain, a researcher at NBK Capital.

“We maintain our positive views and buy recommendation on Mazaya. Its mid-income Queue Point project continues to generate good demand, in contrast to the general weakness in the Dubai real estate market.”

Al Mazaya broke ground on Queue Point in June 2008. However, the project was hit by the global financial crisis, with the first three phases only finally being handed over last year.

The developer is currently working on a further 12 buildings, comprising phases five and six of the ambitious housing project.

Queue Point, a San Francisco-inspired development, initially had a value of about $545m when it was launched. A series of residential and commercial buildings were planned over 52 plots, ranging between five and 15 storeys in size.